Tecumseh Valley Lyrics

Steve Earle Tecumseh Valley

The name she gave was Caroline
The daughter of a miner
And her ways were free and it seemed to me
The sunshine walked beside her

She comes from Spencer across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
'Cause the coal was low and soon the snow
Would turn the skies to winter

She said, she'd come to look for work
She was not seekin' favors
For a dime a day and a place to stay
Oh, she'd turn 'em hands to labor

Ah, but times were hard, jobs were few
All through Tecumseh Valley
But she asked around and a job she found
Tendin' bar for Gypsy Sally

She saved enough to get back home
When the spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied, her pa had died
The word had come down from Spencer

She took to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
Many a man returned again
Just to lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That lead to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died was a note that cried
Fare thee well, Tecumseh Valley